Sprinkler-car.



No. 648,4l4. Patented May I, I900.

J. B. KENISON.

SPRINKLER GAB.

(Application filed Dec. 27, 1897.) (No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

Witnesses. Inventor.

Attofneys THE Noaius srrzns so Puorou'mm. wwmu'ron No. 648,4I4. Patented May I, I900.

J. B. KENISON.

SPRINKLER GAR.

(Application filed Dec. 27, 1897.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Witnesses. filriventor. w gmkwf a 23,

Attorneys.

n4: Nonms virus 50.. wnoroumoq wasumumn. 0. Q

ITIED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. KENISON, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN CAR SPRINKLER COMPANY, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPRINKLER-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,414, dated May 1, 120 0.

Application filed December 27,1897. Serial-No. 663,532. on model.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, JOHN B. KENISON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sprinkler-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that classof sprinkler-cars shown in United States Patents to Gathright, Nos. 378,672, 570,990, and 570,991.

The especial object of my invention is to' provideimproved connections for supporting and operating the pivoted perforated sprinkler-pipe and to provide improved connections for controlling the track-sprinkler used in connection therewith.

To these ends my invention consists of the parts and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described,and more particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a sprinklercar constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional View of the swivel-joint which supports the perforated sprinkler-pipe. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the operating crank arm or handle. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the adjustable hanger for the operating'shaft. Fig. 5 is a detail view of a catch for locking the sprinkler-arm in position alongside of the car. Fig. 6 is a partial plan view illustrating the connections preferably employed for operating the valve of the track-sprinkler. Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the track-sprinkler and its operating devices; and Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view,

to be hereinafter referred to.

Referring'to the drawings and in detail, A designates a car-body mounted to run on wheels win the ordinary manner. A tank may be supported in the car-body A in the ordinary way, as illustrated in the Gathright patents before referred to. Connected to and leading down from the tank in the car-body A is a pipe 10 for supplying water to a perforated sprinkler-pipe 13, which is connected to a swivel-joint. This swivel-joint is preferably formed by means of a casing 11, having a tapering or plug section 12 fitting therein, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2.

its supply-pipe.

in the plug-section 12 itself.

In the side-arm sprinkler-cars which have heretofore been employed the swivel-joint of the perforated sprinkler-pipe has been ordinarily connected by a rigid fitting or pipe to In practice I have found that the use of a rigid connection in this location is objectionable on account of the difficulty in keeping the. same tight-that is to say, the jars and strains necessarilyincident to the operation of the pivoted sprinklerpipe tend to work threaded joints loose, so as to cause leakage at this point. To obviate this difficulty, I preferably employ a section of flexible pipe, as 14, for connecting the swivel-joint of the sprinkler-arm with its supply-pipe 10. By adopting this construction in practice I have been able to maintain absolutely-tight joints and have provided a construction which will adapt itself to the strains to which it is subjected and which can be more readily fitted in place than constructions heretofore used.

The plug-section 12 of the swivel-joint, as most clearlyillustrated in Fig. 2, is suspended in or supported by a strap 15, and in order to diminish the friction between these parts I preferably provide a set of bearing-balls, as d, which are arranged in a suitable ballcasing, so as to support the plug-section 12. The shut-off valve '0 for controlling the admission of water to the perforated sprinklerpipe 13 is mounted in the plug-section 12 of the swivel-joint and is preferably of the ordi nary cylindrical form. The perforated sprinkler-pipe 13 extends some distance into the plug-section 12 and is held in its adjusted position by means of a check-nut C. The end of the perforated sprinkler-pipe 13 is lo cated in position to cooperate with the shutoff valve 13, and by utilizing the pipe 13 to form a seat for the shut-off valve 4) Iavoid the necessity of finishing or truing up a seat Threaded onto the upper end of the casing 11 is acoverplate 16. A second set of bearing-balls d are secured in place in suitable grooves between the cover-plate 16 and the top of the plug-section 12.

In practice considerable difficulty has been too encountered in properly adjusting the ground taper joint formed between thecasing 11 and parts.

' permitted between the same.

plate 16 in the opposite direction the casing.

11 willmove down and the taper joint will be tightened. V

. Threaded intothe cover plate ldare'sma ll set-screws e, which form stops for holding-the" coverplate 16 inits adjusted-position.

Thevertical operating-shaft 17 is supported: in adjustable bearin gs B. Each bearing-piece I B,"as,illustrated inost clearly in Fig. 4',-com

, has,"

v I prises a-basepi-ecefor socket 23 for adj'ustablyv receiving a yoke-piece 24.- Ad j ustably mount+ ed'on centerscrews inthe yoke-piece 24 is the piece fl25, :which -forms the bearingof lth'e verticaloperating-shaft 17. I

have heretofore beenused. 'By usiiigadjustable bearings for the-vertical operating-shaft I have provided a construction which can be 1 more readily assembled than the constructions heretofore-used, andwhich can be ad- -j usted or changed to compensate for the swell-'5 ing or warping of the car-frame.

. The valve-stem of the shut-off valve'u isicon nect'ed at its outer end to an operating-lever 20, pivoted on an'arm 19, projecting fromthe operating-shaft 17, The handle or crank-arm 18 for turningthe Vertical shaft 17 is provided -with lugs or projections 21, secured upon which is a strip 22 for confining the vertical, '*-'valve'-.0perating lever 20 in place, as most clearly shown in Fig. 3, In practice I prefer- Lablyemploy small blocks of rubber r or other f compressible material between the lugs 21 and the side strip 22, so that these parts may be taken up to provide a substantially-tight guideway for the operating-lever. 20.

' 2O in'the manner above described and by connecting the same to the crank-arm 18 it will -beseen that-I'have provided a construction in'which the operatorfis enabled to use both hands in swinging or turning the perforated sprinkler-pipe'without releasing his control of the valve-lever-20. i, 1

W'hen' the perforated sprinkler pipe 1-3 is turned back alongside-of the car, it is desirable to provide'some means for locking the of drawings.

same inthis position, so that it will not accidentally swing out when the car is moving.

The construction which 1' preferably employ for this purpose is most clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5. As shown in these figures, b designates the brace or stay forsupporting the outer end ofthe perforated sprinkler-pipe 13.' Arranged to engage the brace or stay b I preferably provide a catch 26, which is I normally held up in position to engage the catch or stay 17 by means of a coiled spring 27.

I preferably provide connections for releasing -the 'catch 26 fromthecar-platform. As illustrated, these releasingconnections comprise a'wire 41m bell-crank lever 42, a second wire 43,-and a handle 44, which islocated in position to be conveniently grasped bytheoperator on; the car platform. By means of this construction: it will-be seen thatwhen the sprinkler-pipeIS is turnedback alongside of :the car its brace b will'enga'ge the catch 26, which'will engage with and lock the sprinklerl p pc in this position untilthecatc'h is released :9 n1 practice'it has been found to be adifii cult matter. to lineup the vertical operating-I Jshaft17 with exact accuracy in the first in.- stance, and as the useof, water frequently.

causes the framingof the car towarp'orf "change its form it has been necessary i'n-a number ofinstances to shift the bearing-pieces. for the vertical operating-shafts of cars which by-operatingthehandle 44;"

'- Where sprinklercars of the classwhich my invention relates are operated by electricity, two; men -are necessarily employed, one

man ac ting'as the motorman "and the other man' ordinarily having. control'iof ithe sprin- -kling devices. Iii-practice I have found'that the sprinklin g-operator has to give practically his whole attention foroperating the pivoted 'sp'rinkler arm and controlling; the supply of water thereto, so that heis able to payicompara tively little attention to "the sprinkling devices for sprinkling thespace between the tracks upon which the car runs.- Itifrequently hap'pens, therefore, that the water is allowed to flow continuously through the :itrack-sprinkling' devices, and the water'is not shut-off, as it should be, whenthe car passes over cross-walks. i To avoid this difficulty, I

have provided'the valve of the track-sprinkler which I preferablyjemploy with connections which can be'operated either-shy the motorman or the sprinkling-operator. f The connections which I employ for this purpose are most clearly illustrated in the second sheet Asv shown therein, 28 designates a supply-pipe connected to a transverse sprinkler-pipe 29. i The transverse sprinklerpipe 29 is connected'at its ends to spraying- In the use of the sprinkling device con-'- -str uctedaccording to my invention the op era- -t'org'raspsthe handle or crank-arm 18=with; one hand and the valve-lever 20 with the other hand. By mounting the val've-operatinglever cylinders 30. The shut-"off valveforthe tracksprinkling devices is locatedin the fitting which connects the supply-pipe 28-with the. [sprinkler-pipe 29, and may be of substan- "ported on the-d'asherof the car and e'xtends from the handle 32 over in position to be conveniently operated by the sprinklingeperator. Fitting inside of each of the sprayingcylinders 30 is a regulating-plate 34:, which may be shifted by an arm 35, which can be controlled, if desired, by a handle extending up through the car-platform. lVhen the regulating-plate 34 is moved back to uncover all the perforations in a spraying-cylinder 30, the water from the spraying-cylinder 30 will' be thrown some distance from the side of the track, and by means of this construction the width of street sprinkled by the track-sprinklers can be regulated or adjusted as desired. 7 I am aware that changes in my construction may be made by those skilled in the art and that various features of my invention may be used in different locations and in different connections without departing from the scope of my invention as expressed in the claims. I do not wish, therefore, to be limited to the exact forms which I have shown and described; but

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of acar-body, a water-tank carried thereby, a swivel-joint comprising a casing fixed to the car-body, and a plug-section journaled in the casing, a perforated sprinkler-arm carried by the plug-section of the swivel-joint, and a flexible pipe connecting the swivel-joint and tank, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a car-body adapted to support a water-tank, a supply-pipe adapted to connect to said tank, a swivel-joint pivotally supporting a perforated sprinkler-pipe, a vertical operating-shaft for said pipe, and adjustable brackets for supporting said operating-shaft, substantially as described,

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a swivel joint, a pivoted sprinkler-pipe supported thereby, a vertical operating-shaft, a crank arm or handle therefor, a shut-off valve located in the swiveljoint, an operating-lever for said shut-off valve, and means for connecting the operat ing-lever to the crank arm or handle so that the operator may use both hands in turning the sprinkler-pipe, substantially in the manner set forth.

4. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a car-body adapted to support a water-tank, a supply-pipe, a perforated sprinkler-arm, and a ball-bearing for pivotally supporting said sprinkler-arm, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a swivel-joint for supporting a perforated sprinkler-pipe, said joint comprising a casing 11, and a tapering or plug section 12 fitting therein, a collar 16 adj ustably mounted on the casing 11, and a set of bearing-balls d confined between the collar 16 and plug-section 12, whereby the tightness of the swivel-joint can be regulated by adj usting thecollar 16, substantially as described.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a swivel-joint comprising a casing 11 and a tapering or plug section 12,

,port a water-tank, a supply-pipe adapted to be connected to said tank, track-sprinkling devices, and connections for controlling the my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN B. KENISON. \Vitnesses:

Enw. O. PERRY, PHILIP W. SOUTHGATE. 

